Artists, developers, and creators of all kinds are invited! Bring a team, join a team, or fly solo!

Participants begin making their game Friday evening, and work until Sunday afternoon. Win prizes, attend workshops, and meet new people.

*This Jam is IRL*

Schedule

Friday (10/15)

5PM - Doors Open

7PM - Keynote and Theme Announcement

7:15PM - Group Formation and Icebreaker

1AM - Workspace Closes

Saturday (10/16)

9AM - Workspace Opens

10AM - Teamwork and Project Management for Jams w/Emmanuel Contreras

If you are working in a team, communication is key. This is true with any project and game jams are a great place to practice it. However there are best practices to consider when working with people you have just met, when you are on a very tight time constraint, or when your team members are not all on site at the same time. Emmanuel has participated in 4 game jams, and has much wisdom to share. He is currently a senior at CUNY Baccalaureate for Unique and Interdisciplinary Studies pursuing a BA in Game Narrative Design, and an EGD Collective Game Studio Fellow.

12PM - Intro to Unity w/Michael Woltmann

Step into the world of interactive development with Unity, a development program many studios utilize to build games and interactive experiences. This workshop provides an introduction to Unity and gives a behind the scenes look into the development of the apps and games you use everyday. You will walk away with a playable prototype of a small game. Michael has been teaching game development for over 6 years through Hofstra University's Continuing Education program and interned at Vicarious Visions, one of the studios behind game series such as Crash Bandicoot, Guitar Hero, Jet Set Radio, Skylanders, handheld versions of the original Spiderman series, and the most important: the Bee Movie game. He holds a BS in Game Design from Champlain College where he concentrated on level design.

3PM - Developing Fun & Balanced Games in Construct 2 w/Logan Cavaliere

Whether you're familiar with game development or just starting to learn about how to create in this wonderful medium, Construct 2 is a solid application to work with. This engine is built to let your creativity and imagination loose in an environment where you won't need to struggle much with coding, and we'll go from having a concept to the realization of your idea by the end of the workshop. Logan has been studying game design for about 11 years and applies what he's learned to practically every element of life through gamification. Having presented and given educational courses on CBS, MTVu, and throughout Long Island school districts, he aims to improve his own level of development experience all while embracing others.

5PM - Art & Sound for Video Games w/Kyra Wills-Umdenstock

Are you a programmer on a team without an artist? Are you at your first jam and have never touched a musical instrument? Designing assets for your jam game doesn't have to be hard. This workshop is for people interested in learning the basics of digital art creation, music composition, and sound design. We will go over tips and tricks you can use to cut down on the time you use to create assets without compromising quality and introduce you to a variety of free software programs. Kyra formally studied game development for 12 years, and has been a games educator for 6 - having taught within universities, nonprofits, and K-12 schools. They had the privilege of studying under many talented composers and artists, such as Tom Salta, the composer behind games such as Halo, Killer Instinct, Deathloop, and PUBG; and James Romberger, an artist and cartoonist who has been published by Marvel and DC/Vertigo. They hold a BA in Emerging Media from CUNY Hunter College where they focused on music theory, composition, and sound design for new media formats.

9PM - Workspace Closes

Sunday (10/17)

9AM - Workspace Opens

3PM - Games Due

4PM - Community Expo / Judging Commences

6PM - Winners Announced

Judges

Mike Towndrow is an audio engineer with over 10 years of experience, as well as an independent musician, content creator, and podcast host. He currently is the Technical Manager and lead audio engineer for the Jacob Burns Film Center - as well as one of the co-founders and Editor In Chief for Six One Indie, a collective of content creators and a gaming media website with the goal of amplifying the voices of independent game developers. He also composes musical scores for shorts, features, podcasts and video games. He has worked with filmmakers and creators such as Emily Ann Hoffman, Leah Galant, Lydia Cornett, Brit Fryer, Kerry LeVielle, Kervin Marseille, Lucy Adams, Sean Weiner, UCB Comedy, and more on various shorts, features, and animations. His work has been heard in films featured at the Sundance Film Festival, SXSW, BAMcinemaFest, the Twister Alley Film Festival, Hot Docs, and the Urban World Film Festival, as well as on New York Times’ Op-Docs. He has also worked with musicians and songwriters such as Barbara Anselmi, Hudson Link’s A Few Good Men, Universal Music songwriter Robert Porembski, Wess Meets West, Rio Azul, Beach Angel, and Another Astronaut. Mike holds a BS in Music Industry and Technology from Mercy College.

Sarah Roman is a content creator and graphic artist for Lazarus Esports's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team Lazarus Heroes, and the Marketing & Creative Lead for the EGD Collective, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equity in gaming and higher education. Previously, she was a game design instructor at the YM & YWHA of Washington Heights and Inwood for 8 years. In addition, she was a former judge for the 2020 Games for Change Student Challenge. Sarah holds a BA in Studio Art from the City College of New York, and a BA in Emerging Media from Hunter College. 

FAQs

Do I need to know how to make games to sign up?

No! Many people sign up and spend the weekend making their first game at a game jam!

Is this a class? Will you teach me to make games?

This is not a class, or an instructor-led experience. We will, however, have workshops throughout the day on Saturday covering various topics that are beginner-friendly. They won't be able to help you step-by-step, but they can help you find resources, and set some good goals to aim for given your level of experience.

Are there minimum age requirements to enter the event?

Minors can attend. Participants under 15 must be accompanied by an attending adult. We will have a waiver for guardians to sign for each minor participant.

What can I bring into the event?

You are strongly encouraged to bring your own computer, however we will have limited setups on site with engines and programs pre-downloaded (you will need to log in to your own Adobe account to use Adobe Suite, etc). There are 10 computers available on a first-come-first-serve basis, so if you have a laptop please bring it to allow those who do not to use the setups. There will be desk space and power for Desktops and Monitors, so feel free to haul in your fancy gaming rig if you want to.

Your computer must be able to use WiFi, there is no wired Ethernet connectivity. If you are using a desktop we suggest grabbing a USB WiFi dongle and testing it before you arrive.

What is the maximum team size?

Teams are limited to 5 people. You don't need to have a team formed before the event. We also don't recommend flying solo, but it is 100% fine to do so if you want to.

Do I have to attend in person to participate and win prizes?

At least one person from your team needs to be on site Sunday to register your team. Judging is also done on site on Sunday afternoon, so your game needs to be playable on site for others to play.

The spirit of this event is a local, on site, in person event. That is where the fun is at. If some of your team members are unable to attend for some reason, that isn't going to be a problem at all as long as somebody is there on Friday evening and Sunday for judging. Please just let us know that you are doing this so we know where our missing attendee is.

If nobody on your team can attend in person due to medical reasons, please contact us and we will discuss accommodations. We will help you to participate remotely, but be aware though that your experience won't be the same, and it may be difficult or impossible for your game to win prizes if you cannot be on site to demo it for judging.

Is the venue open 24 hours?

Unfortunately we will not be able to host jammers overnight. While the venue officially closes at 3AM on Saturday, we kindly ask all jammers to vacate the space at 9PM. Build hours are 7PM-1AM Friday, 9AM-9PM Saturday, and 9AM-3PM Sunday for a total time of 24 hours. While we will be unable to stop you from building overnight when you leave, we strongly suggest getting sleep and being well rested - take care of yourself!

What are you doing about COVID-19?

Proof of vaccination will be required in the venue, and masks are strongly recommended.